Sustainability of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program
For Fall 2010 and Beyond
Working to Fill an Unmet Need in Our Community
When a program, such as the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program, has created such a notable change in a school environment, both in terms of behavior and culture, and when it has resulted in calls from other school principals and teachers asking for the program, we are obligated to work to institutionalize the program to meet the needs of Ithaca children.
~ Amie Hamlin, NYCHSF Executive Director
The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program provides free fresh fruits and vegetables as snacks twice a day to every student and teacher at Beverly J. Martin Elementary School. According to BJM Principal Denise Gomber, "The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program created a school-wide culture of wellness. There are no longer situations of haves and have-nots related to affordability and access because this program has completely eliminated that inequity in our school." The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program addresses the most basic human right to have secure access to health-supporting, disease-preventing food.
The New York Coalition for Healthy School Food is mounting a campaign to expand the program to all elementary schools in the district via the school budget. Many parents simply cannot afford the 5 – 13 servings of fruits and vegetables per day per family member as recommended by the US Dietary Guidelines/Food Pyramid. Thus, providing fruit and vegetable snacks meets a critical need of a high percentage of children, given that less than 2% of children are eating in line with the US Dietary Guidelines/Food Pyramid. In addition it is important to point out that these snacks directly replace the junk food snacks that are served in many classrooms.
The cost of the program for all elementary schools in Ithaca would be about $355,000 per year. For the taxpayer, the cost of the program for all elementary schools would be an additional $0.09 per $1,000 of assessed value. For the family with a property value of $200,000, this would amount to $18.00 in additional taxes each year, or $1.50 per month – the price of a cup of coffee.
We hope we can count on your support to provide fresh fruit and vegetable snacks to all ICSD elementary students in order to meet their needs, which are often not met at home, and to help develop a lifelong healthy habit, which results in overall better health.
We are asking local non-profits to support the program by signing on to a letter of support (coming soon), and possibly to allow the public to come into your office to sign petitions. Please let us know if you can help us with either of these by contacting r calling 272-1154.
We must act quickly. We need the signed petitions by February 14th, Valentine’s Day, to submit to the school board before their final budget meetings.